


A Shift in the Stars

by queenred_x3



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Au Ra Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), First Kiss, M/M, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, various mentions of other characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 19:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20494079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenred_x3/pseuds/queenred_x3
Summary: Astrology has always been a fickle thing but never did the Warrior of Light expect such a sudden change in the way that his cards worked. One night in Lakeland, he receives help from an unexpected source in a way not even the stars predicted.





	A Shift in the Stars

Kohri’s brow furrowed at his star globe as he drew another card. The Arrow: the Fourth Heaven which guides the archer to strike fast and true… But the once-familiar card now felt so foreign to him. He expected to feel faster yet instead it invigorated him in an unfamiliar manner. Sure, his casting felt more powerful but he still expected to feel faster, for his spells to leave him sooner and in a more rapid succession.

Urianger had mentioned that it was as though the heavens themselves had shifted. Kohri had accidentally fallen asleep during his lessons on the fundamental differences he should expect but the main gist of it was that everything would be different. Like a river, things were constantly changing; there was nothing in this world that could remain static for so long and these sort of things were to be expected. Kohri appreciated him and his knowledge of Sharlayan divination but ultimately it was up to him to reconnect with the art that so suddenly changed under his feet.

Luckily for him, Lakeland proved to be an excellent location for star-gazing and assisting with his astrological studies. What was most remarkable to him was that it was the exact same heavens as the one in The Source. The Exarch had kindly explained to him that though there are significant key differences between the worlds, they all share the same sky and thus he shouldn’t be too unfamiliar with the stars that appeared in The First, which helped _tremendously_. Potentially having to study a different star pattern would only add to the mountain of frustrations Kohri was currently working through. He returned his card to his star globe with a heavy sigh, so lost in thought that he failed to notice that a portal of darkness manifested behind him.

“You know, hero, you’ve been out here for hours on end and not a single thing to show for it.” Thankfully star globes levitated or else Kohri would have dropped his out of surprise. “It started to get boring watching you after the first hour. Just let this whole foolish game of yours go; what could you possibly learn from looking at the stars and a packet of playing cards?” Boredom was plastered on Emet-Selch’s face as he helped himself to a card from the star globe and stared at it with an unimpressed gaze.

The Warrior of Light held his tongue and resisted the urge to unleash his pent-up frustrations on the antagonizing Ascian. It was true that he didn’t make as much progress as he hoped for tonight but in all his studies under Lady Leveva, not once did he discount astrology as heresy or chalked up it up to merely being glorified star-gazing There was much to be told about the fates that both the cards held and how the stars and planets moved in mysterious harmony to foretell events to come.

“The only good to come of this is that your magic heals wounds. These cards don’t seem to do much in the way of helping with that.” Emet turned the card over and over between his fingers, merely playing with it to further prod Kohri. His condescending tone was accompanied by a snide sneer; what in the seven hells was Emet trying to accomplish by provoking him like this?

Fed up, Kohri snatched the card right out of his grasp. “They do. I just need to figure out _ how _ they can assist.” The Ewer... ? His gaze lingered upon the card that Emet drew before he swiftly returned it to his star globe; he could ponder upon the meaning of Emet happening to draw The Ewer later. “Besides, my studies don’t exist for your entertainment. If you’re so bored, then you will help me with my astrology.” That curt tone of voice he employed against Emet was uncharacteristic of him. He was known more for his tender kindness and being soft-spoken, but Emet surmised that such a strict voice was reserved primarily for Garleans and for Ascians, of which he was unfortunately both. 

Rak’tika must’ve not been enough to show Kohri that he truly was extending a hand in friendship, but he supposed he understood where he was coming from. He was _ frustrated _ with himself, in the same manner that they became frustrated when a new concept wasn’t quite taking form or couldn’t perform the way they wanted it to… He supposed that yet another show of goodwill was necessary to facilitate a positive reaction out of Kohri, even if it meant suspending his teasing (for now). Emet relented with a heavy huff and submitted to his demand: “Alright, alright. What do you need me to do?” The things he did for this spoiled brat...

“Stand there. I will cast a card upon you and then I need you to tell me if you feel any different.” Kohri took a few steps back and poised himself with star globe in hand.

“Pray tell, these cards don’t have any _ negative _ effects, do they? I wouldn’t want to wake up with a particularly severe case of bed-head tomorrow morning or that my arm falls asleep.” His indignant tone motivated Kohri all the more to show him that astrology was not something to be mocked. He aligned his aether with the stars above and drew The Balance from his deck. Perfect. Divert his aether into the card. Relax, let it flow. _ Breathe _ . The cards will guide your hand… and _ release _.

The act of playing the card felt no different; it came to him as easily as breathing. Yet something felt off, as though the card itself changed mid-play. Did he lose focus just as the card left him? It should’ve been the right gate… He stared at Emet in anxious anticipation before he grew impatient with the idle Ascian, “Well…?”

“Well, what? I’m waiting on _ you _ , you know,” Emet replied curtly, not appreciating Kohri’s tone. Strange… Did the card have no effect on him? Surely he should feel _ something _ , right? He dug for his notebook in his satchel and looked at his scrawled notes from Urianger’s lecture. See, The Balance was supposed to strengthen the receiver of the card much like how it was before… But at the same time, it was supposed to bolster _ physical _ strength; though Emet-Selch was the famed Garlean warlord, Solus zos Galvus, Kohri had a feeling that his forte lay more with magic than brute strength. _ Ugh, _ why was this so _ difficult!? _ He never had to consciously think about astrology before. Kohri almost felt a novice again and this time, he didn’t have Lady Leveva nor Jannequinard at his side to assist him with his studies.

“Never mind. I’ll draw the next card.” Godsdamn it, he swore to make this work. The next card that revealed itself to him was The Spire. Just the perfect card to enhance Emet’s magic. Concentrate. Remember Urianger’s lessons. Focus on the alignment of the stars and planets, weave your aether and make it one… But to his dismay the moment he played it, Emet merely covered his mouth to mask a languid yawn. “Well???” Kohri lashed out, just about ready to abandon his star globe and his studies altogether.

“Oh, was something supposed to happen?” The bite of mockery behind Emet’s question only served to inflame the other’s frustrations. “Let’s face it, hero. Your little card tricks are nothing more than parlor magic.” He dismissed it with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head. Kohri’s insistence was cute at first but after all these failed attempts, it was beginning to wear thin.

No. There was no way. Lady Leveva nor Urianger wouldn’t steer him wrong, nor would the stars. They always held the truth and they had never once failed him. Whenever Urianger imbued him with his cards, Kohri always felt a burst of energy that, though unlike the effects that the cards once had before, were always noticeable and strengthened every swing of his gunblade and partially fill his cartridges. So then why did it have no effect on Emet? Was he just pretending to not feel anything in order to discourage him from pursuing astrology, or did he truly not feel the effects of the cards that were played on him?

“You can’t feel it? At all?”

“Feel what?”

“My aether! These cards have my aether in them! Please, at the very least say nyou can feel _ that _.”

Emet remained silent before he looked away, “I feel it.” And it felt too familiar for his liking.

“So then why…?” Kohri mused softly to himself and pulled out his notebook yet again, scribbling down a myriad of notes and observations, hypothesi and topics of conversation that he would need to bring to Urianger’s attention. His primary hypothesis at the moment was that his cards would be like nothing to an Ascian of Emet-Selch’s caliber. After all, it was only for quick bursts that were as invigorating as a brisk breeze that was gone too soon. If the history that Emet shared with them in the Qitana Ravel was to be believed, the amount of aether Kohri put out would be infinitesimal compared to the aether Emet harbored. 

Once he regurgitated all of his frantic thoughts into his notebook, he hastily stuffed it back into his satchel and sheathed his star globe. “I’ve come to a conclusion: you’re not a suitable assistant.”

“Ex_cuse _ me?”

  
“You heard me.” Between the mounting frustrations from his studies and the berating he had to endure from Emet, it felt like he smiled for the first time tonight when Kohri saw just how much ire he drew from him.

“_ Well _,” Emet started, quite offended with Kohri’s ingratitude, “if I don’t take the time out of my busy day to assist you again, don’t blame me for it. All I wanted was a simple ‘thank you, Emet-Selch’ and I would be on my way.” History books definitely underplayed just how much of a flair Solus had for the dramatic given the grandiose way Emet was hemming and hawing. As an Ascian, Emet likely couldn’t provide the results Kohri desperately yearned for nor could he provide constructive feedback if he couldn’t feel the cards’ effects.

Perhaps he should have asked another Scion for help instead. Any one of them would have been better suited to help him, even Thancred with his sealed aether would have been more helpful than Emet. Y’shtola would be able to see the way that he wove his aether and give him pointers on how to fine-tune it, Urianger could give him lessons right on the spot and they could discuss any observations either of them had (though admittedly, he risked falling asleep given the time of night). Hells, Alisaie or Alphinaud would be wont to provide him with helpful tips while only providing just a fraction of sass Emet was giving him.

With a roll of his eyes, Kohri ignored the overdramatic Ascian and turned his gaze towards the heavens. His initial reading at the start of the night had puzzled him: ‘gratitude leads to silence’. He was unsure what that meant, especially since he planned on being alone tonight. It wasn’t until Emet showed up that he realized he had yet to thank him. Remember, the stars never drove him wrong. Everything happens for a reason, all he had to do was take the first step.

He took in a deep breath before he turned to Emet, “You know, I never quite thanked you for Rak’tika…” he mused idly as he took out his star globe and plucked The Bole from it. He turned it over and over in his hand, lost in the memory of the great, towering trees that provided blessed shade and hid its denizens from the harsh light-saturated sky that once plagued it. His statement gave Emet reason to pause, his expectant gaze on him. “I really do appreciate you saving Y’shtola. If anything happened to her, or to anyone…” His words trailed off as his throat tightened; he needed a moment to recollect himself.

Emet was well familiar with the feeling of loss, not that Thancred would ever believe him given his snide remark in Fannow, but he knew it well. He was also quite familiar with that pained look on Kohri’s face and it was enough to tell him that his words were said in earnest. “You’re right. I’m glad you remembered that you do owe me some token of gratitude. It wasn’t easy trying to find your friend, you know.” His words contradicted the ease with which he pulled Y’shtola out of the lifestream, needing nothing more than a few moments of idle concentration and a simple snap of his fingers. “Your friend’s words were quite moving. I’m glad she recognized the gravity of her situation and just what my intervention meant when none else would.” There was a smug smile on Emet’s lips as he watched the Warrior of Light approach. “Go on. I’m waiting.”

Trust the stars. They’ll show the way.

And if everything went to plan, they’d help wipe that damn smirk off Emet’s face.

There was a moment of tense silence between them, neither quite sure what the other was thinking. Kohri’s face was as stone - impossible to read and betrayed neither his thoughts nor his feelings. Emet’s eyes were heavy with boredom, no different than usual but still eager to hear those words of gratitude he had been denied for nights now. Just when Emet grew bored of the silence, the Auri carefully took ahold of his hand and raised the back of it to his lips “Kohri, what are you doing!?” Emet stammered incredulously. He started to pull back his hand as though it were burned but Kohri kept a firm hold on it.

“That was for Rak’tika,” Kohri murmured, his limbal rings burning bright in the night. Emet found himself unable to look away; when he said he wanted a ‘thank you’, a physical show of gratitude was the last thing he expected. “And this is for tonight.” In a swift move he pulled the Ascian against him and leaned down to kiss him, deep and slow. Emet would have collapsed were he not in Kohri’s firm hold; the kiss was so sudden and it had been _ years _ since he last kissed anyone with such intensity.

Impossible. This was _ impossible. _

All those years… This…

He burned for Kohri and longed for this moment between them to last just a little while longer. But alas, Kohri pulled away, their lips mere ilms apart from each other. “That was for tonight,” he repeated himself, his whisper breathless and husky. 

Emet was lost in his memories. He thought the last kiss he would share with them was before The Source was sundered but here they were again: a different time, a different body, a different world… In this quiet moment, Kohri’s soul burned the same color as theirs. Emet grasped at Kohri’s robes, unable to keep his footing after his realized that Kohri was the closest thing to _ them _ that he had ever seen in his near-eternal lifetime. His eyes were blown wide and mouth agape in shock at this revelation. This feeling. This moment. Emet believed that he would never feel these things again and yet here he was, a fragment of who they once were and it felt as though nothing had changed. How was this possible? He had thought to watch Kohri’s progress in The First but he never dared to get this close… and now…

That look on his face was complete perfection. Kohri couldn’t help but burst into laughter, also clinging to Emet lest the two of them fall over each other. “The… The stars… Your face! Ha!” Kohri wheezed between fits of laughter, “perhaps I _ am _ getting the hang of astrology once again.” Emet was the one supporting the two of them now that the taller Auri was coming down on him, his stance tottery. Normally he would be indignant about someone mocking him but his laughter was like music to his ears. It sounded different and yet his heart still fluttered the way it did whenever they laughed, falling over themselves in a fit of joy and their face covered with unstoppable tears. “Ah… Goodness… The stars said I would be blessed with silence and here we are… Ah…” Kohri wiped away some tears from his eyes as he slowly straightened himself out, still a little wobbly and light-headed from all that laughter. “Thank you, Emet-Selch. This has proven to be most enlightening.”

Enlightening, indeed. Kohri proved once again that he truly was worth watching. With a haughty ‘_ hmph _’, Emet too straightened himself out. Eons of heartbreak were seemingly mended in a single instant and he yearned for more, but he found himself unable to tell if Kohri truly meant that kiss or if he was simply yanking his chain. Right about now, he could hear Elidibus calling him a fool for taking the term ‘keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer’ a little too literal. And it pained Emet to admit that Elidibus would have been right… but he wasn’t here right now, and he wasn’t his problem at the moment. The only thing Emet-Selch wanted at the moment was a second opportunity to see whether Kohri was truly enamored with him or not.

When Emet refused to say anything in response, Kohri merely shrugged, “I will see you back at The Crystarium then. Try not to stay out here too late, yeah?” With one last wink, the Warrior of Light turned heel and proceeded down the path back to the crystalline spire and left Emet to stew in his thoughts.

His fingers brushed against his lips, the memory of Kohri’s against it still strong. Don’t overreach or overthink, he’s merely a fragment. He will never be them. Not yet. Yet that single moment cut through him and sparked a sliver of hope that he thought had been long suppressed years ago. The promise of granted dreams by a completed Zodiark was all he had left to fuel him but now… Perhaps with enough encouragement, Emet could rouse some memories that were locked away deep within Kohri’s fractured soul.

His lips turned up into a musing smile and his golden eyes looked up to the stars that he had been studying. Maybe this whole stars and cards thing wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
